Space-charge-limited current analysis in amorphous InSe thin films

The study of space-charge-limited currents (SCLC) in amorphous InSe thin films is presented. The temperature-dependent current–voltage (J–V) measurements were carried out for TO/a-InSe/Au sandwich structures in the range of 200–320 K. For all samples, ohmic behavior was observed up to an electric field strength of about 2×10⁵ V cm^–1. From the temperature dependence of conductivity data, the position of the thermal equilibrium Fermi level E _fo is determined as 250 meV above the valence band E _v. At higher electric field strength values in the SCLC regions, the proportionality constant of voltage changes is between 2 and 2.9 with temperature. The analysis of J–V characteristics using the SCLC method and analytical approach for the determination of density of states (DOS) in the energy range of 190–250 meV shows that DOS changes between 3.8×10¹⁷–1.7×10¹⁸ eV^–1cm^–3 with energy. The energy distribution of DOS is temperature independent indicating that the SCLC in these amorphous films is related to the bulk, not to the surface layer between the contact and the film.     

Optical constants of thermally evaporated amorphous GeSe3 thin films

The optical transmission spectra of amorphous Ge-Se films of chemical composition GeSe₃, prepared by thermal evaporation, are measured overthe 300 nm to 2500 nm spectral region. A simple, straightforward procedure suggested by Swanepoel, which is based on the use of interference fringes, has been applied in order to derive the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index, and also the film thickness. Furthermore, thickness measurements made by a surface-profiling stylus are also carried out to cross-check the results obtained by the present optical method, employing only T(). The dispersion of n is discussed in terms of the single-oscillator Wemple and DiDomenico model, and the optical band gap E _g ^opt has been determined from the absorption coefficient values, using the Tauc procedure.     

Space charge limited conduction in CdSe thin films

The current (I)-voltage (V) characteristics of thermally evaporated CdSe thin films having thickness in the range 850–3000 Å and deposited within the substrate temperature of 303–573 K show nearly linear dependence at low voltage and afterwards a non-linear behaviour at higher voltage range. A detailed study ofI-V curves in dark and under illumination clearly reveals the mechanism as ohmic at low voltage and that of trap limited space charge limited conduction (SCLC) at higher voltage. The transition voltage (V_t) from ohmic to SCLC is found to be quite independent of ambient temperature as well as intensity of illumination. SCLC is explained on the basis of the exponential trap distribution in CdSe films. Trap depths estimated from the lnI vs 10³/T plots are found to be within 0.60-0.37 eV. Using the relevant SCLC theory, the carrier concentration, n₀, total trap concentration, N_t, and the ratio of free charge to trapped charge, θ, have been calculated and correlated with ambient temperature and intensity of illumination.     

Electrical and switching properties of InSe amorphous thin films

In this work electrical and switching properties of InSe thin films have been studied.

The semiconductor compound InSe was obtained by direct synthesis from stoichiometric amounts of spectroscopically pure indium and selenium. By slow cooling of the synthesized InSe a polycrystalline material is obtained. The amorphous films were obtained by thermal evaporation under vacuum of the polycrystalline material on glass or pyrographite substrates.

From electrical measurements, it was found that for all films the dark electrical resistivity decreases with an increase in film thickness and temperature. The InSe compound exhibits non-linear I–V characteristics and switching phenomena. The threshold voltage decreases with increasing annealing temperature and increases with increasing film thickness.     

Structural,dielectric, and electrical studies on thermally evaporated CdTe thin films

Sandwich structures of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films between Ag electrodes were prepared by thermal evaporation technique at a vacuum of ~2 × 10⁻⁵ torr. Structural characterization of these thin films was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The effect of temperature and frequency on the electrical and dielectric properties of these films was studied in detail and reported in this article. The experimental study indicates that for the CdTe thin film the dielectric constant and dielectric loss increases with temperature and decreases with frequency. However, A.C. conductivity increases both with temperature and frequency. The data of complex impedance measurements over the same range of temperature and frequency are used to describe the relaxation behavior of the CdTe film. Our results indicate that the transport behavior of carriers in CdTe thin films is consistent with the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model.     

Space charge limited currents in graded films

The equilibrium current density is calculated for films in which the conductivity is a function of depth. Three specific cases are considered: (a) conductivity falling monotically with distance away from the injecting electrode; (b) conductivity rising monotonically; and (c) conductivity sharply peaked in the middle of the specimen. In all cases the current density is ohmic at low voltage and obeys the Mott-Gurney law at high applied voltage. There is a smooth transition between the limits, with no negative resistance region, and switching is unlikely to occur for this combination of ohmic and space charge limited transport mechanisms.     

Structural and optical properties of thermally evaporated 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine thin films

Metal-free 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine was prepared directly by the cyclotetramerization of 3,6-dihexylphthalonitrile using lithium butoxide in butanol. Thin films of the material were deposited on glass substrates by the thermal evaporation technique. The structure of the films was found to be in the form, and showed a strong peak indicating preferential orientation. The surface morphology of the thin films was investigated by atomic force microscopy and showed that the molecules of 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine grow in stacks of parallel rows. The spectrophotometric measurements of transmittance and reflectance were carried out in the wavelength range 190–3000 nm. The refractive index, n, and absorption index, k, were found to be independent of annealing at 373 K. The B band absorption occurred at 356 nm, and the Q band showed a doublet at 667 and 739 nm. Other optical parameters, such as absorption coefficient and optical dielectric constant ε, were determined.     

Structural and optical properties of thermally evaporated zinc phthalocyanine thin films

Thermally evaporated zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) films in the as deposited condition were identified to be as-amorphous. It undergoes structural transformation upon annealing up to 613 K. The optical properties and spectral behavior of as deposited and annealed thin films of ZnPc were studied using spectrophotometric measurements of the transmissivity and reflectivity at normal incidence of light in the wavelength range 200–2500 nm. The refractive index, n, and absorption index, k, were calculated and it was found that they are independent of film thickness in the thickness range 205–530 nm. Annealing at 613 K increases absorbance of films by 5–6 times in comparison with absorbance of as deposited ones and shifts peak positions of all bands towards low energy side of spectra except the peak position of N-band is shifted towards high energy side of spectra. The absorption spectra in the UV–VIS. region has been analyzed in terms of both molecular orbital and band theories. Indirect allowed transitions near the onset and fundamental absorption edges were observed. The energy at the onset was obtained and equals to 1.45 and 1.51 eV for as deposited and annealed films, respectively. The fundamental energy gap was obtained and equals to 2.94 and 2.88 eV for as deposited and annealed films, respectively. The absorption spectra shows four absorption bands. The oscillator strength, f, the electric dipole strength, q², the molar extinction coefficient, ζ_molar, were calculated for as deposited and annealed ZnPc thin films.     

Structural and electrical studies of thermally evaporated nanostructured CdTe thin films

CdTe thin films were deposited on KCl and glass substrates using thermal evaporation technique under high vacuum conditions. CdTe bulk compound grown by vertical directional solidification (VDS) technique was used as the source material to deposit thin films. Powder X-ray diffraction technique was employed to identify the phase of the as grown bulk CdTe compound as well as its thin films. Surface morphology and the stoichiometry of the bulk compound and thin films was carried out by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an attachment of energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS). Microstructural features associated with the as deposited CdTe thin films were studied by using transmission electron microscope (TEM). The films deposited on to glass substrates at different temperatures have been used to study the I-V characteristics of the films. These parameters have been studied in detail in order to prepare good quality nanostructured thin films of CdTe compound. CdTe bulk compound grown by VDS method and its thin films prepared by thermal evaporation method found to have single phase with cubic structure. Size of the particles in the as deposited films vary between 5 and 40 nm In the present study efforts have been made to correlate the electrical and optical properties of the CdTe thin films with the corresponding microstructural features associated with them.     

Room temperature ferromagnetism and hopping transport in amorphous CrN thin films

Magnetic and electronic properties of stoichiometric amorphous CrN thin films grown on MgO (001) substrates by radio-frequency nitrogen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy have been investigated. The magnetic property of the amorphous CrN thin films shows a ferromagnetic behavior even at room temperature, and can be interpreted by the percolation theory of magnetic polaron where we consider Cr³⁺ defects as magnetic impurities which lead to the formation of bound magnetic polarons. The obtained results of electrical conductivity are explained by the variable-range-hopping theory of the Mott and Davis model.     

Determination and analysis of optical constants for thermally evaporated PbSe thin films

PbSe films have been deposited on glass and quartz substrates at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction patterns of the obtained films showed that they have polycrystalline texture and exhibit cubic FCC structure. The optical constants, the refractive index n and absorption index k were calculated in the spectral range of 400–4000 nm from transmittance and reflectance data using Murmann’s exact equations. Both n and k are practically independent on the film thickness in the range 28 nm to 210 nm. From the analysis of absorption index data, an indirect allowed energy gap of 0.16 eV and direct allowed energy gap of 0.277 eV were obtained. Other direct allowed optical transitions were obtained with energy gap of 0.49 eV and may be due to the splitting of valence band at the Γ point due to the effect of spin-orbit interaction.     

Determination and analysis of optical constants for thermally evaporated PbSe thin films

PbSe films have been deposited on glass and quartz substrates at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction patterns of the obtained films showed that they have polycrystalline texture and exhibit cubic FCC structure. The optical constants, the refractive index n and absorption index k were calculated in the spectral range of 400-4000 nm from transmittance and reflectance data using Murmann’s exact equations. Both n and k are practically independent on the film thickness in the range 28 nm to 210 nm. From the analysis of absorption index data, an indirect allowed energy gap of 0.16 eV and direct allowed energy gap of 0.277 eV were obtained. Other direct allowed optical transitions were obtained with energy gap of 0.49 eV and may be due to the splitting of valence band at the Γ point due to the effect of spin-orbit interaction.     

Stress formation in evaporated amorphous Ge-Se and Ge-Se-Ga(Tl, B) thin films

Thin amorphous chalcogenide films from the GeSe_x (x = 1-5), (GeSe₄)_100−yGa_y and (GeSe₅)_100−y Ga(Tl, B)_y (y = 5, 10, 15, 20) systems have been prepared by thermal evaporation and characterized with respect to their internal stress using a cantilever technique. The correlations between the stress, the composition and the structure of the films were investigated. The obtained results were related with some structural and mechanical parameters of the glasses like mean coordination number, number of constrains per atom, density, compactness, microhardness and Young's modulus. For all investigated chalcogenide films a stress relaxation with the time was observed as a result of spontaneous structural rearrangements.     

Adhesion, microstructure and composition of thermally evaporated aluminium thin layers on polyethylene terephthalate films

Industrial polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films have been metallized by aluminium evaporation in two different sets of experimental conditions. In the first set, aluminium layers of 100 nm thickness were deposited at a constant deposition rate (10 Å s⁻¹) for different residual pressures varying from 1 Pa to 10⁻⁴ Pa and, in the second set, the residual pressure was kept constant (2.6 × 10⁻³ Pa), while the deposition rate was varied from 5 Å s⁻¹ to 40 Å s⁻¹.

The adherence between the aluminium layers and the PET film was measured by means of scratch and peel tests. The critical load and the peel strength exhibit a maximum at about 10⁻² Pa when the deposition rate is kept constant.

The microstructure of the aluminium layers, mainly the mean grain size, was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), while secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiles through the aluminium layers were performed in order to provide the chemical information, mainly aluminium layer oxidation. Concerning the TEM results, the grain size increases when the residual pressure is decreased and also when the deposition rate is increased. The SIMS depth profiles show different levels for aluminium oxidation at the surface, in the bulk of the layers and at the interface, all increasing for high residual gas pressure and for low deposition rates.

From these results, it appears that the oxygen content at the Al---PET interface plays a critical role in the microstructure owing to its influence on the nucleation and on the growth of the aluminium layers. It also influences the adhesion between aluminium and PET for which an optimum oxygen amount seems to be required.     

Space charge limited current measurements on conjugated polymer films using conductive atomic force microscopy

We describe local (~150 nm resolution), quantitative measurements of charge carrier mobility in conjugated polymer films that are commonly used in thin-film transistors and nanostructured solar cells. We measure space charge limited currents (SCLC) through these films using conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM) and in macroscopic diodes. The current densities we measure with c-AFM are substantially higher than those observed in planar devices at the same bias. This leads to an overestimation of carrier mobility by up to 3 orders of magnitude when using the standard Mott-Gurney law to fit the c-AFM data. We reconcile this apparent discrepancy between c-AFM and planar device measurements by accounting for the proper tip-sample geometry using finite element simulations of tip-sample currents. We show that a semiempirical scaling factor based on the ratio of the tip contact area diameter to the sample thickness can be used to correct c-AFM current-voltage curves and thus extract mobilities that are in good agreement with values measured in the conventional planar device geometry.     

Comparative study of gasochromic and electrochromic effect in thermally evaporated tungsten oxide thin films

Substoichiometric tungsten oxide films (WO_3 − y, 0.49 ≥ y ≥ 0.15) were prepared by non-reactive thermal evaporation of WO₃ powder in vacuum. The thin film composition, structure and optical properties were investigated with the purpose to establish their dependence on the deposition conditions and to prove a possible correlation between electrochromic and gasochromic colouration. An analogy in the dependencies of the maximum achievable optical density on the thin film oxygen content for gasochromically and electrochromically coloured films was observed.In-situ performed XPS measurements suggested that the main mechanism of gasochromic colouration is charge transfer between W⁶⁺ and W⁵⁺ states, i.e., similar to the electrochromic effect.     

Structural, optical and electrical properties of thermally evaporated Ag2S thin films

Thin films of Ag₂S are prepared on glass and quartz substrates by a thermal evaporation method. The structural studies show that the films are well crystallized with an acanthite structure. The optical properties of the films are investigated using spectrophotometric measurements of transmittance and reflectance at normal incidence in the wavelength range 500-2200 nm. The refractive index, n, and the absorption index, k, of Ag₂S are determined from the absolute values of the measured transmittance and reflectance. The dispersion of refractive index in Ag₂S is analyzed using the concept of the single oscillator. Within this concept the oscillator energy, E₀, and the dispersion energy, E_d, can be determined as 5 and 32.5 eV, respectively. It is interesting to note that Ag₂S appears to fall into the ionic class. The values of the lattice dielectric constant and the ratio of the carrier concentration to the effective mass are also determined as 7.77 and 1.7×10⁴⁷ kg⁻¹ m⁻³, respectively. The analysis of the spectral behavior of the absorption coefficient in the intrinsic absorption region reveals an indirect allowed transition with a band gap of 0.96 eV and associated phonons of 0.05 eV. Measurements of the dark electrical resistivity is studied as a function of film thickness and temperature. The dark electrical resistivity decreases with increasing film thickness. Graphical representation of log ρ as a function of reciprocal temperature yields two distinct linear parts indicating the existence of two activation energies ΔE₁ and ΔE₂ as 0.18 and 0.28 eV respectively. Discussion on the obtained results and their comparison with the previous published data is also given.     

Studies of thermally stimulated currents and surface charge in polystyrene thin films

A careful study was undertaken of the initial charge developed on the non-metallized surface and of short-circuit thermally stimulated currents (TSCs) in unilaterally metallized polystyrene (PS) films 25 microm thick. The films had been negatively charged by Townsend breakdown at a voltage of −5 kV at various temperatures ranging from 90 to 130°C. The surface charge densities observed were of the order of 10^-8 C cm^-2, corresponding to full trap densities of the order of 10¹⁴ cm⁻³. The short-circuit TSC spectra of newly charged samples show a single peak at a temperature between 98 and 102°C. The thermal activation energy associated with this peak was found to be 1.2 eV. An analysis of TSCs indicates that electrons are subject to fast retrapping in PS. The ratio of the mean charge depth to the sample thickness is found to increase from 0.069 to 0.12 with the increase in the temperature of polarization, indicating a higher charge accommodation at higher temperatures of polarization. The trap-modulated mobility values for electrons at the TSC peak temperatures are the order of 10⁻¹² cm² V⁻¹s⁻¹. Such low mobility values at peak temperatures are considered to indicate the excellent charge storage properties of PS.